A load control environment, such as a residence or an office building, for example, may be configured with various types of load control systems. For example, a lighting control system may be used to control the lighting loads in the user environment. A motorized window treatment control system may be used to control the natural light provided to the user environment. A heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning (HVAC) system may be used to control the temperature in the user environment.
Each load control system may include various control devices, including control-source devices and control-target devices. The control-target devices may receive digital messages from one or more of the control-source devices. The digital messages may include load control messages for controlling an electrical load. The control-target devices may be capable of directly controlling the electrical load. The control-source devices may be capable of indirectly controlling the electrical load via the control-target device by sending digital messages to the control-target device that include control instructions for controlling the electrical load controlled by the control-target device. The control-source devices may be configured to transmit digital messages to the control-target devices via a wireless communication link, e.g., a radio-frequency (RF) communication link, and/or a wired communication link, e.g., a digital addressable lighting interface (DALI) communication link. Examples of control-target devices may include lighting control devices (e.g., dimmer switches, electronic switches, ballasts, or light-emitting diode (LED) drivers), motorized window treatments, temperature control devices (e.g., thermostats), plug-in load control devices, and/or the like. Examples of control-source devices may include remote control devices, occupancy sensors, daylight sensors, temperature sensors, window sensors, and/or the like. To enable a control-target device to recognize instructions received from a control-source device, the control-target device and the control-source device may be associated with one another, such that the control-target device may recognize the digital messages received from the control-source device.
The load control system may include one or more load control panels (e.g., a lighting panel) for controlling the amount of power delivered to one or more electrical loads (e.g., lighting loads). Each load control panel may have a plurality of control devices, such as load control devices (e.g., power modules, dimming modules, and/or switching modules), system controllers, and/or power supplies. The load control system may include multiple load control panels having different types and numbers of control devices. Load control panels having the same configuration (e.g., the same type and number of control devices) may be used multiple times in a single load control system.